Syllabus

• Facilitator Contact Information
• Course Dates
• Course Goals
• Objectives
• Prerequisites
• Pace/Schedule
• Getting the Most Out of this Course
  • Activities
  • Assignments
• Lessons Overview
• Need Help?

Facilitator Contact Information

Course Dates

The Fall 2003 offering of CDL101 is open for 26 days and is 100% online. See Course Calendar for specific course dates.

Course Goals

Internet-based courses provide students with more flexibility in terms of what courses are available to them. The Internet provides instructors the opportunity to teach in a manner that is specifically tailored to how adult learners process new information. New skills that are necessary for teaching on the Internet should be acquired and/or developed. The primary goal of this course is to provide you with the means to accomplish this.

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Objectives

This course is for faculty and staff who will author, design, construct, and/or facilitate an online course. In this course you will:

1. Get an overview of the online course development process and timeline.
   
2. Learn the administrative policies and procedures related to proposing and developing an online course here at UNT.
   
3. Learn strategies for adapting a face-to-face course to the online environment.
   
4. Develop course objectives, a course outline, and an instructional design document for one lesson based on the instructional design process we recommend for developing online courses.
   
5. Learn how to incorporate concepts of contemporary learning theory into the development of an online course in order to maximize students' learning.

Prerequisites

Because we are using WebCT Course Management software, we recommend you take CDL100 (WebCT Faculty User Tutorial) as a prerequisite to this course. If you have not completed this tutorial and feel uncomfortable using any of the WebCT Tools (Discussions, Email, etc.), please email the facilitator.

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Pace and Schedule

Although you can proceed through the lessons at your own pace, it is recommended that you try to follow as closely as possible the deadlines posted on the Course Calendar. This will help you to finish on time and will also help you to keep together as a group so that you can communicate your ideas with other participants who are working through the same materials and projects.

Getting the Most Out of This Course

You will get the most out of this course by participating fully in the activities and assignments.  

Activities

Activities include:

• Posting ideas in discussion topics

• Responding to others' ideas in discussion topics

• Sending email

• Sharing  assignments in the Presentations area

• Participating in assessments

Assignments

Assignments in this course have specific due dates associated with them. The purpose of the due dates is simply to keep you on track. There is no "late penalty," so don't panic!! If you fall behind a scheduled assignment due date, you can still submit it later. The due dates are just there as a gentle reminder.

Your assignments include:

• Writing course objectives

• Writing one lesson's objectives

• Developing an online instructional strategy

• Completing a course outline with identification of course activities and production items 

• Authoring one lesson using a design document format as is used in a real production situation with a production team

• Beginning of the necessary administrative approval procedures required for distance learning courses

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Overview of Lessons

Lesson 1: Introduction to Online Course Design

This lesson provides you with an overview of the steps involved in developing a course for the online environment. In addition to reading the lesson text, you will read a couple of articles about the role of technology in education and post your thoughts to a discussion topic.

Lesson 2: Administrative Policies and Procedures

This lesson provides you with an introduction to the administrative process of putting a course online here at UNT. You will learn about the course and program approval process, the funding model, and intellectual property agreements. You can begin filling out the forms necessary to get the ball rolling, but you do not need to turn in completed forms for this course. (No assignments.)

Lesson 3: Instructional Design and Course Organization

Lesson 4: Instructional Design and Strategy

In this lesson you will learn about developing an instructional strategy for your online course. You will outline one lesson in detail from your course It may take anywhere from 1 - 2 hours, depending on what your plans are for the lesson.

Lesson 5: Content Development & Authoring

In this lesson you will begin to think about how you will develop content for your course. Issues such as the instructor's role in online learning, accommodating learning styles, the seven principles of good teaching, and using multimedia online are all addressed. You will discuss various issues with other participants. Additionally, you will revisit your lesson outline and make any additions or changes you think are required before moving on to drafting the lesson.

Lesson 6: Course Evaluation

The text of this lesson addresses planning evaluations for your course. Your major assignment will be to author your lesson in time for the final lesson of this course. Set aside several hours to do this.

Lesson 7 - The Home Stretch

Take a tour of CDL Services. Look at some of the course template examples we have on the site, and if you would like to use our free services, please email me your template and color choices, etc. See details in the assignment.

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Need Help?

If you have any trouble with submitting an assignment, creating an attachment, or any other technical issues related to WebCT, please post these questions in the WebCT Help Discussion area. Often if you have a question, someone else in the class will as well. It is always helpful to share these problems and solutions with the whole class.